irst assault.

This successful achievement was attended with all the horrors of the
soldiery, excesses, riot, and drunkenness taking place on every side.
Houses were plundered of their contents, cellars broken open and
emptied, and many houses were even set on fire, amid the yells of the
dissipated soldiers and the screams of the wounded. Thus the night
passed, but in the morning order was a little restored, and those men
who were sensible enough returned to their own regiments.

About forty-one pieces of cannon, some stands of arms, and a quantity
of provisions were taken, besides which the enemy must have lost quite
a thousand men, besides the prisoners. Amongst these latter were six
or seven deserters belonging to the Allied army, who were sent to
their respective regiments and probably shot: fortunately there were
none belonging to our division. The Allies' loss was very
considerable, being upwards of a thousand also.

After the reduction of Ciudad Rodrigo, Lord Wellington put it under
garrison and ordered the breaches to be repaired. Then he marched
south to watch the proceedings at Badajoz, whilst we again went into
cantonments near Rodrigo.

Some muleteers halted under the protection of our troops at this
place, laden with rum and biscuits for the supply of the army, over
which sentries were placed on guard, but instead of guarding, they
took so much rum, which being there generally carried in pigs' skins
was easily got at, that they died in consequence next morning.
Likewise one of our cavalry men was here flogged for making away with
his horse's corn to selfishly buy himself grog; and well deserving of
punishment he was, for the poor horse was miserably thin. In fact, the
horses in general were the same, and it was thought that many were
served the same; but this man being the first that was caught, was
tried by court-martial and sentenced to fifty lashes as an example.
The man asked the colonel to look over it as it was his first offence,
but the colonel said, "The horse's looks tell a different tale from
that; he has long had the bitters, and you the sweet, and now it is
time things should be the other way round." Certainly the horses'
forage could not at all times be procured, and especially in the
winter, but for that very reason they had more need of it when it
could be. The best horses I saw during the whole Peninsular campaign
were the German hussars': those men were not so fond of drink as ours,
wh